Whatsapp groups are a hazard
ges, so we return to our devices all the time. This induces release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter related to feelings of satisfaction. The good effect is very short term, though, and is often followed by longer-lasting feelings of frustration and regret at having wasted time and allowed another to hijack our brains and our attention — like having a hangover after we have had too much alcohol — and our health and mental state suffer as a result.
When Facebook added news feeds to its primary social-media platform, its intentions were to become the sole source of our information. It began by curating news stories to suit our interests and presenting them in a feed that we would see on occasion. Then it required us to see this newsfeed before we could see anything else. Once we were hooked, Facebook started monetising the newsfeed by selling targeted ads.
It was bad enough that, after its acquisition by Facebook, Whatsapp started providing Facebook with all kinds of information about its users so that Facebook could track and target them. But, in order to make Whatsapp as addictive as Facebook’s social-media platform, Facebook added chat and news features — something that it was not designed to accommodate. Whatsapp started off as a private, secure messaging platform; it wasn’t designed to be a news source or public forum.
Whatsapp’s group-messaging feature is particularly problematic because users can remain anonymous, identified only by a mobile number. A motivated user can create or join unlimited numbers of groups; and, when messages are forwarded, other than the word “forwarded”, there is no indication of the accuracy of the message or its true source. Messages’ encryption prevents lawenforcement officials and even Whatsapp itself from viewing what is being said. No consideration was given in the design of the product to the supervision and moderation necessary in public fora.
Facebook should be held liable for the deaths that Whatsapp has already caused, and should be required to take its group chat product off the market until its design flaws are fixed. It isn’t that Whatsapp can’t be fixed; there just isn’t enough motivation for the company to divert from developing new marketing products the attention it needs to fix it.
Rest assured: the technology industry always finds a way of solving problems when profits are at stake.
Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and Carnegie Mellon University at Silicon Valley. His forthcoming book, Your Happiness Was Hacked, explains how you how you can live a more balanced technology life The views expressed are personal